HUMAN DENTAL REMAINS FROM GOUGH'S CAVE 



33 



Paleolithic to the Bronze Age (Alexandersen 1978; Bennike 1985; 

 Formicola 1988; Frayer& Russell 1987;Turner 1988), were noted in 

 the Neolithic remains from Mehrgarh (Lukacs & Pastor 1988), and 

 possibly in South African Late Pleistocene sites (Grine & 

 Henshilwood 2002; Grine et al 2000). 



The earliest evidence of intentional modification of the anterior 

 teeth is the ablation seen at Minatogawa, dating to circa 1 8,000 years 

 BP (Hanihara & Ueda 1982). In addition, intentional filing of the 

 labial surface of incisors has been reported in early Holocene in 

 South Asia (Kennedy et al 1981), and the practice of dental modifi- 

 cation commonly occurs in Africa, the Americas, South Asia, Japan, 

 Southeast Asia, Australia and Melanesia (Hawkey n.d b\ Milner & 

 Larsen 1991 ). There are no instances of intentional dental modifica- 

 tion (ablation, filing, or inlay) in the Gough's Cave sample, a fact that 

 is supported by ethnographic reports that suggest the later popul- 

 ations of Europe and the Middle East abhorred the loss of the anterior 

 teeth (Guerini 1977; Kanner 1928). 



There are only a few cases of possible dental modification in early 

 Britain (Jackson 1915), from two sites ascribed to a Neolithic culture 

 (Dog Holes cave in Lancashire, and Perthi Chwareu caves in North 

 Wales). Jackson's description of the specimens remains unconvinc- 

 ing, however, as examples of intentional dental modification. There 

 is an abnormal amount of wear on all four specimens, particularly 

 those with loss of central incisors, and the loss may due to excessive 

 attrition leading to exposure of the pulp chamber and premature 

 exfoliation of the teeth. Interestingly, two of Jackson's specimens 

 display antemortem loss of lower premolars; one individual from 

 Gough's Cave has antemortem loss of LP 4 . Because the loss seen in 

 both Gough's Cave and two of Jackson's specimens are not anterior 

 teeth, it is unlikely to be intentional dental modification. The ante- 

 mortem tooth loss seen in Gough's Cave, in particular, is more likely 

 due to activity-induced traumatic injury, a situation observed in 

 populations as ecologically disparate as the Arctic (Merbs 1983) and 

 Pakistan (Lukacs & Hemphill 1990). 



CONCLUSIONS 



Although the dental remains from Gough's Cave are from a numeri- 

 cally limited series, several trends are suggested, with the underlying 

 assumption that dentition from these individuals accurately repres- 

 ent the Late Pleistocene/Early Holocene populations of the British 

 Isles. It is cautioned , however, that the results are tentative and may 

 reflect statistical fluctuations due to small sample size. 



1 ) Morphology: The individuals from Gough's Cave have a sim- 

 plified dental pattern, similar to the dentition of other Late 

 Pleistocene/Early Holocene populations of North Europe, the 

 Levant, and North Africa. They have similarities with two other 

 groups, also with a simplified pattern: South Asia (Indodont 

 pattern) and the Jomon (Sundadont pattern). They are dentally 

 unlike populations of modern sub-Saharan Africa, Mesolithic 

 Nubia, or the more complex Sinodont dentition of Lake Baikal. 

 Gough's Cave lacks expression of any of the archaic traits, with 

 the exception of P, Tomes' root. 



2) Metrics: Gough's Cave dentition is more similar in crown 

 size to other Mesolithic European populations, exhibiting a 

 significant reduction in tooth size from European 

 Neanderthals, consistent with the post-Pleistocene trend in 

 dental reduction. Among the Late Pleistocene/Early Holocene 

 comparative samples, Gough's Cave is most similar in dental 

 crown size to early populations from the Levant, South/South- 



west Asia, and North Europe, but unlike both early East Africa 

 (Nubia) and modern sub-Saharan Africa (Khoisan). When both 

 morphology and metric differences are compared, a similar 

 pattern tends to occur, although no published metric data are 

 available for North Africa (Iberomaurusian). There are tempo- 

 ral differences within the British Isles: Gough's Cave appears 

 most similar to the North Europe sample dating to the approxi- 

 mately the same time period. Gough's Cave is less similar to 

 Anglo-Saxon, with the Recent Britain sample even more dis- 

 similar. A trend towards lateral incisor reduction occurs in 

 later British populations, with Molar Crown Area remaining 

 approximately the same as Gough's Cave. This finding may 

 have some effect on the odontometric analysis, reflecting ap- 

 portionment changes between the incisor/canine and premolar/ 

 molar fields with time. 



3 ) Pathology/occlusal attrition/crown chipping: The dental path- 

 ology profile is consistent with that of a hunter-gatherer lifeway, 

 with absence of caries, no periodontal disease, and low fre- 

 quency of enamel hypoplasia. The diet was probably not 

 particularly abrasive, because the teeth show evidence of a 

 gradual progression of attrition with age, rather than evidence of 

 excessive wear during adolescence. An almost complete absence 

 of enamel hypoplasia, along with little dental size asymmetry 

 suggest a relatively healthy population. This low incidence of 

 enamel hypoplasia may indicate a lack of nutritional stress, 

 similar to that noted by Kennedy etal(\ 986), for the Mesolithic 

 site of Sarai Nahar Rai in India, where hunter/gatherer subsist- 

 ence strategy and ecological conditions may well have provided 

 an abundance of food resources. Given the absence of caries in 

 these remains, it is probable that the only instance of antemortem 

 tooth loss in one individual may be occupationally related, 

 especially considering the excessive enamel microtrauma found 

 on the anterior teeth. 



4) Other features: Similar to other European populations, there 

 is no convincing evidence of intentional dental modification. 

 Although there have been some reports of interproximal 

 'toothpick' grooves and cleaning striations among European 

 Neanderthal populations, the lack of these features in Gough's 

 Cave individuals may be related to the low instance of caries, 

 and the presence of only slight-moderate degree of supra- 

 gingival calculus. 



ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS: The author particularly wishes to thank 

 Christopher B. Stringer and Louise T. Humphrey for their assistance (and 

 patience). Special thanks are also due to Robert Kruszynski, Steven E. 

 Churchill, and Christy G. Turner II. Dental morphology data for the South 

 Asian samples were collected courtesy of funding from a National Science 

 Foundation Dissertation Grant (# 9318334) and an American Institute of 

 Indian Studies Junior Fellowship (1993-94). 



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